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News Desk: The Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar has not extended the ongoing lockdown in the state as yet and will take the decision in this regard today evening.
Earlier in the day, news agency ANI had reported that the state government has extended the lockdown in the state for 16 more days till August 16 in an attempt to arrest the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
The report further said that the curbs will come into effect from August 1, a day after the ongoing lockdown will end in the state.
On July 16, the Nitish Kumar government had imposed a total lockdown in Bihar till July 31 to check the spread of coronavirus infection which has infected more than 40,000 people in the state.
Earlier this month, a central team had visited Bihar to review the COVID-19 situation in the state amid complaints of inadequate facilities and negligence at state-run hospitals. The three-member team led by Joint Secretary in Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry Lav Agarwal were sent to the state after allegations of poor handling of the coronavirus situation by the Nitish Kumar-led government.
During its visit, the team held meetings with authorities of the health department and other officials concerned to review the existing situation and discuss measures to check the spread of the disease.
The Bihar government has been facing the flak of opposition that has been cornering Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the handling of the pandemic.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had last week tweeted a video in which some people were seen complaining about the absence of doctors and nurses at a hospital in Siwan which is the hometown of state Health Minister Mangal Pandey.
Yadav, the leader of opposition in the state legislative Assembly, earlier said that Bihar is heading towards becoming a global hotspot of the COVID-19 pandemic, while accusing the Chief Minister of playing havoc with the lives of 12.6 crores in the state.
Bihar has witnessed a 4 times rise in COVID-19 cases since July 1 when the case count was 10,075.
The COVID-19 tally in the state had jumped by 2,480 on Tuesday, pushing the total number of cases in the state to 43,591, while the death toll mounted to 269. Bihar has witnessed a 2.5 times rise in COVID-19 cases since July 1 when the case count was 10,075.
